Close-up on climate in the heart of Westminster

When we asked children and young people to make short films about climate change this year, we weren’t sure what to expect. What would climate change mean to them? Would they be inspired by the challenge?

We needn’t have worried. As the entries rolled into the Close-up on Climate project, we were amazed again and again by the creativity, humour, talent and passion that young people had put into their films.

This week, the film makers had the chance to share their creations with decision-makers in Westminster as they showed their films at a special event in the Houses of Parliament.

From Harry Potter-inspired Lego creations, to poetry and some very creative cardboard cut-outs, young people proved that the next generation of campaigners, film-makers – and yes, chocolate lovers – are passionate about tackling climate change and unafraid of speaking up to tell everyone about it.

Climate Coalition chair Neil Thorns, had this to say about the entries:

“These films are great. They go right to the heart of why climate change is such an important issue, our role in causing it and the need for action. This project takes the voices of young people through their films directly to politicians showing their concerns, cares and call for leaders to act on behalf of future generations.”

One film from each age category was selected by the judging panel as being a particularly creative and inspiring example of this range of youth voices on climate change.

In the 16-18 category, Home is Where the Heart Is – a moving spoken word poem written for the love of London – impressed with its heartfelt plea to protect our home.

In the 12-15 category, a film highlighting the impact on climate change on chocolate struck a chord with the panel (perhaps for obvious reasons!).

And A Time To Change was selected in the 8-11 category for the colourful creativity and effort that went into every aspect of this message from the future.

In recognition of their achievements, all the filmmakers were invited to a special event in London on November 4th. Into Film, CAFOD and Oxfam led them in workshops on filmmaking and influencing MPs – then they have the chance to put their skills into practice as they visited the Palace of Westminster to meet their MPs, show their films, and ask them to take action on climate change.

In the same month that crucial UN climate talks are due to start in Paris, it’s more important than ever that politicians hear the voices of the generations whose futures will be affected by the decisions they make. We hope they’ll find them as powerful as we did.